PALCO Timber

Photo: Stacks of Timber at Pacific Lumber Company Mill (PALCO), Scotia, California

As you drive further north along U.S. Highway 101, you see an increasing amount of logging trucks carrying large loads of trees in Mendocino and Humboldt County. I have no idea how many trees these stacks of timber represent but given the demands of a growing population, it probably takes a lot of timber to meet the demand.

Now that PALCO is under new ownership by the Mendocino Redwood Company (the owners of which also own The Gap clothing chain), environmental groups are hoping for a return to ecologically-sustainable logging practices. They certainly have a tough task ahead while trying to balance business with environmental demands.